Jovin Webb cranks out some badass blues on his new album Son of a Sinner…wow! If ya wanna hear some new music and haven’t sampled the blues in a while, I encourage you to check out this incredible recording. I have been saying for years that the contemporary blues has some stellar talent that deserves more attention from the music public…Jovin is one of them. A Louisiana native, Jovin’s second album is in large parts high energy with some beautiful chill interludes. Jovin is a young man with an old soul. His voice has that gravely soulful sincerity that has been the hallmark of a number of the blues’ greatest artists. And his song writing is full of realistic life vignettes. The musicianship on the recording is first class…you would expect nothing less from an album produced by Grammy award winning Tom Hambridge who also did the honors on Jovin’s debut album in 2024.
Jovin wrote 6 of the 11 songs on the album . The most deeply personal track is Pray for Me which reflects his battles with addiction, lust, and faith. My personal favorite is the blues rockin’ lead tune Gunpowder & Lead. And the blues ballad After the Rain is just so chill and beautiful. Jovin does a great cover of the Delbert McClinton song Every Time I roll the Dice. And the last track on the recording is a superb rendition of the Allman Brothers Band’s Whipping Post….you gotta give it a listen!
The band for the recording is a well respected group of musicians! Jovin not only sings but he does some fine harpin’ on the harmonica! Tom Hambridge, longtime compatriot of Buddy Guy, is on the drums. Kenny Greenberg, a well known Nashville session player and songwriter, plays guitar and Mike Rojas, another in demand Nashville session player, is the piano player. Tommy Macdonald, who has appeared on three of Buddy Guy’s Grammy winning recordings, is the bass player.
I had a chance to chat with Jeff Schroedl, president of Blind Pig Records, about the recording which is being released on their label. (Jeff is also a member of the acclaimed Altered Five Blues Band whose lead singer Jeff Taylor died earlier this year.) He was kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me:
- Whipping Post is one of my all time favorite songs. How did it makes its way onto the album?
- For “Whipping Post,” we recorded that one because it is one of Jovin’s most requested songs live. When Jovin was on American Idol in 2020, it was his audition song. He sang songs in 6-7 episodes but that was the first one, and a very popular episode. (Here’s a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH2c9fTCa54.) The original YouTube video had more than a million views but was taken down for some reason a few years ago. Anyway, he still performs the song live, often as an encore, so wanted to record a studio version.
- A third to a half of our audience at Blues Music Fan radio at any give time is from Europe. Has Jovin performed in Europe and does he have any plans to tour there to support the new recording?
- Jovin has been over to Europe to perform 3-4 times so far, and will be there again next month (October), mostly in France, for several shows.
In a musical environment where some are abandoning individual creativity and musicianship for soulless AI productions, Jovin Webb’s new album is a refreshing testament to the power of real blues when harnessed to superb vocals, great lyrics, and world class musicianship & production. The new album Son of a Sinner is due out on Friday, September 18th…get yourself a copy as soon as it releases and listen to some tracks right now on Blues Music Fan radio!
